Absconder leaves baby in prison

By Paul Stokes

12:00AM BST 15 May 2001

A REMAND prisoner left her newborn baby behind when she went on the run from a hospital in her nightdress yesterday.

Julie Nevan was under guard while awaiting sentence on theft charges when she walked out of Pinderfields Hospital, in Wakefield, West Yorks. She had been taken there from nearby New Hall Prison and gave birth to a daughter last week.

Nevan, 24, from the Midlands, who is described as slim with collar-length brown hair, was being guarded by one prison officer when she absconded soon after midnight. It is not prison policy to restrain inmates when they are in hospital and she was not handcuffed to her bed. She is not considered dangerous.

A West Yorkshire Police spokesman said: "We want to find her obviously because she has absconded from custody and also because we are concerned for her welfare, having given birth just a few days earlier."

The baby is being cared for by staff at the hospital and was described as being "safe and well".